CryptoPunks: the restoration project begins

CryptoPunks’ famous and expensive NFT collection is being updated with the “CryptoPunks.App Restoration Project” program, an initiative announced directly by Yuga Labs. 

Summary

• CryptoPunks NFT: Yuga Labs Announces Restoration Project 
• CryptoPunks: the top 5 most expensive NFTs in the collection in 2022
• The long “crypto winter” does not stop the staggering figures of the NFT market
• Yuga Labs under investigation by the SEC
• Gary Gensler: “cryptocurrencies are securities”

CryptoPunks NFT: Yuga Labs Announces Restoration Project 

Yuga Labs announced the start of work on the CryptoPunks.App update through a roundup of tweets.

Over the last couple of months we’ve been sourcing feedback from the Punks community about what we can do to celebrate the Punks legacy while simultaneously setting it up for long-term success.

— CryptoPunks (@cryptopunksnfts) October 11, 2022

“Work has begun on the http://CryptoPunks.App Restoration Project. Over the last couple of months we’ve been sourcing feedback from the Punks community about what we can do to celebrate the Punks legacy while simultaneously setting it up for long-term success.”

Basically, relying on the community’s decision, Yuga Labs maintains that CryptoPunks.App needs a revamp to evolve its marketplace, which to date remains one of the most popular in Non-Fungible Token history. 

The company said that together with trusted and experienced community members, it will work to restore the website, improve the overall UX/UI, and ensure that all technical vulnerabilities are addressed.

Not only that, Yuga Labs also stated that the restoration project will not happen in isolation, but that all changes will be implemented only after community approval. 

CryptoPunks: the top 5 most expensive NFTs in the collection in 2022

The famous 10,000 NFT collection of CryptoPunks, launched in 2017 by Larva Labs and developed on the Ethereum blockchain, is nowadays still among the most highly valued. 

Despite the explosion of the Non-Fungible Token market in 2021, in 2022 it is possible to see how much CryptoPunks are still valued, through this ranking of the top 5 most expensive NFTs.

In first place is CryptoPunk #5822, a super-rare Alien Punk, priced at $23.58 million, followed in second place by CryptoPunk #4156 at $10.26 million and, next, CryptoPunk #5577 with a price of $7.7 million.

Moving down the podium, we find in fourth place CryptoPunk #3100 priced at $7.58 million and in fifth place CryptoPunk #7804 priced at $7.57. 

Staggering figures that confirm how much people are still willing to spend on a Punk NFT. In the ranking, there is also evidence that three are Punk Alien, while two are Punk Ape. 

The long “crypto winter” does not stop the staggering figures of the NFT market

Remaining in the NFT sector and specifically on the collection of CryptoPunks, just recently it appears that there was a $4.5 million trade.

Punk 2924 bought for 3,300 ETH ($4,451,633.94 USD) by 0x9045de from 0x1da533. https://t.co/bh7Rjs9Aob #cryptopunks #ethereum pic.twitter.com/PT9v9bCC5s

— CryptoPunks Bot (@cryptopunksbot) September 28, 2022

“Punk 2924 bought for 3,300 ETH ($4,451,633.94 USD) by 0x9045de from 0x1da533.”

No fears about the “long crypto winter” for CryptoPunk NFTs. And indeed, just late last month, someone reportedly bought #2924 for 3.3 ETH, the equivalent at the time of $4.5 million. 

A sale price in ETH defined as the fourth largest of all time for CryptoPunks, even though it does not rank in the top 5 most expensive NFTs per US dollar.

CryptoPunk #2924 is one of only 24 monkeys comprising 10,000 unique NFT profile images. Not only that, according to Rarity Tools, it is considered the 38th rarest for its attributes. 

Yuga Labs under investigation by the SEC

A few days ago, news broke that Yuga Labs is under investigation by the US Security Exchange and Commission (SEC) for possibly violating federal law in terms of securities. 

Since it is an investigation, obviously there is no charge or conviction by the SEC yet, only investigation and monitoring.

The subject of such a scrutiny by the SEC, in addition to the NFT collections of CryptoPunk and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), appears to be ApeCoin, the ERC20 token launched by Yuga Labs related to its BAYC ecosystem. 

Precisely regarding ApeCoin, the SEC believes it is a security instead of utility token and therefore should follow the relevant rules. 

Gary Gensler: “cryptocurrencies are securities”

The basic problem between the SEC and crypto, is that the SEC would like to regulate the cryptocurrency market without yet having clearly defined its nature. 

And in fact, earlier this month, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler reportedly said that in his opinion almost all crypto assets are securities, and therefore should follow the laws governing that industry. 

At the same time, however, many citizens and lawmakers argue instead that tokens and cryptocurrencies should be regulated by the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC). 

The topic of the definition of cryptocurrencies and related regulation is still an unresolved but nonetheless hot topic, with some cases still unresolved such as the one against Ripple.

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